Drusilla
by LynnHallow
Summary: After a school camp Drusilla Paddock appears to be missing. During this horrible time in the history of Cackle's Academy the girls go through many changes and become stronger than ever.
1. School camp

It was an amazingly cold day, somewhere in the north. Weirdly enough exactly in the town where Cackle's Academy's second years were on their school camp. Every single girl in the entire school hated going on camps like these. The teachers always picked a boring place and their PE teacher always came along to make sure they'd exercise too. So no, it never turned out nice for the girls.  
>And it even turned out worse for Mildred. The teachers assigned the two groups and obviously all of her friends were in to other group. So Mildred was somewhere in the north, with Miss Cackle, Miss Drill, Ethel, Drusilla, Gloria and Bryony. Gloria and Bryony were nice girls, but they definitely were no friends of Mildred, and Ethel and Drusilla were… Yes, what were they? Enemies. Ethel and Drusilla always did their very best to bother Mildred in any possible way, and their hobby was trying to get Mildred expelled. So there was a reason why Mildred hated them with passion.<p>

"So, girls, are you ready for one more fun day?" Miss Drill asked during breakfast. Of course they weren't, the four previous days were incredibly boring, but no one said that because it wasn't a question. Whether they were ready or not, they would have to run in the woods anyway. However, Miss Drill seemed a little disappointed no one excitingly shouted yes.  
>"Well girls… When you're finished, bring your bowls back to the kitchen and take a shower."<br>Mildred wasn't really hungry. She felt extremely lonely between Gloria and Bryony, and Ethel and Drusilla. She missed her own friends so much. She didn't have anyone to talk to at all. The others were having so much fun together, even now, during breakfast.  
>"Hey, what are you looking at?" Ethel said.<br>"Oh… I'm sorry Ethel, I didn't realize I was…"  
>"Well, now you do, mind your own business, Hubble."<br>Drusilla giggled, they were such an annoying duo. Mildred ate her porridge as fast as she could, just so she could leave the table. She took her plate, put it in the kitchen sink and went to the washroom. It was not really a washroom, more like a room with shower cabins, without locks. But at least there were showers. Mildred went inside one of the cabins, undressed herself, turned on the shower and waited for the water to get warm. But the second she thought it might have been warm enough Ethel opened the door.  
>"And who gave you permission to use this shower?" She said.<br>"Oh please Ethel, close the door and leave me alone."  
>"I'll tell you one more time, Mildred Hubble. Get out of this shower at once, or I'll make you get out of it. Now!"<br>Mildred wasn't about to get out of the shower. She knew it wasn't hers, but it wasn't Ethel's either.  
>"Okay, Mildred, you're getting on my nerves. Drusilla, you know what to do."<br>Drusilla always listened to Ethel. It didn't seem much of a friendship really, Drusilla probably only held on to Ethel because she wanted someone to tell her what to do. So on Ethel's command Drusilla walked into Mildred's shower cabin, took Mildred's clothes and towel and threw them on the floor in another shower cabin. Mildred was furious.  
>"You better give me my clothes back and close the door or…"<br>"Or what? What can you do, Mildred Hubble? You're worth nothing without your stupid friends!"  
>"Ethel, I'll go to Miss Cackle!"<br>"Oh, how nice. Drusilla!"  
>Drusilla pushed Mildred so she fell out of the shower cabin. Ethel and Drusilla couldn't stop laughing, and much to Mildred's horror, Gloria and Bryony walked in too and started laughing right away. When Ethel stepped over Mildred to get into the shower cabin the other girls went inside the other cabins. But before Drusilla closed the door she said: "Hey Millie, nice butt!"<br>And all of the girls burst into laughter again.

After the disastrous shower incident that morning Mildred went back to the so called common room.  
>"Hello Mildred, have you taken a shower already?"<br>"Yes Miss Drill."  
>Actually, she just got dressed as fast as she could when the others turned on their showers.<br>"Well, great! Would you like a glass of apple juice?"  
>"Oh yes please, thank you."<br>It was nice to be alone for a moment. The past four days she did not have one single second for herself. Not even while sleeping. And obviously not now either. Ethel and Drusilla walked in and sat down next to Mildred, after Drusilla spit in Mildred's drink.  
>"Enjoy your apple juice Millie!" She said.<br>Mildred sighed. She looked at the clock. 11 am. They'd leave at three 'o clock. Only a few more hours…


	2. The flight

The day went by quicker than Mildred could ever expect. Except for running they did fun games, some of them even inside, so it was 3 before they knew it. So they all put their hats and cloaks on, went outside and waited for Miss Cackle and Miss Drill. After a while Miss Cackle went outside too. Miss Drill probably waited inside for the taxi to come. Because Miss Drill wasn't a witch she couldn't fly back with them. Miss Cackle started talking: "Well girls, unfortunately it's time for us to leave. Because I am the only witch accompanying you on the flight I want all of you to be extremely careful and I want you to look after each other. Is that understood?"  
>"Yes Miss Cackle."<br>"Excellent. Now command your brooms to hover, mount it, and follow me."

It was very cold, so high up in the air, so it didn't was an easy flight. Of course it was easy for Ethel, so instead of flying next to Drusilla, she flew next to Miss Cackle to show off. But Ethel was always showing off so Miss Cackle probably didn't give her much attention. And if she did that was only better for Mildred, because she almost fell of her broom because of the wind. Eventually she leaned back a little too much and screamed: "Help! Miss Cackle!" Miss Cackle immediately turned around to help Mildred, but when she saw nothing was wrong she said: "Oh Mildred, I could have known it was you."  
>That didn't quite please Mildred. So if one of the other girls screamed it was okay, but if she screamed it wasn't considered something important. And what if she really was in trouble? Oh well, they weren't, not at all. Mildred was sure they couldn't be very far from Cackle's Academy anymore. When she looked down it already looked much more civilized. Leaning down forward too far this time.<br>"Help Miss Cackle, I'm falling!"  
>"Hold on to your broomstick Mildred."<br>It was already solved. Of course she wasn't falling. It only felt like it. Drusilla flew by, laughing at Mildred.  
>"You're so stupid!" She said.<br>"Oh, shut up you."  
>Mildred made her broomstick fly a little faster, she didn't want to fly next to Drusilla. She wasn't a great flyer, so she thought only a little faster was enough.<br>Yes, they were close. Mildred already recognized some of the castles. One of them was Pentangles Academy, another school for young witches. Mildred had been there before. By foot it was an hour away, but by broom probably twenty minutes. Oh, Mildred was so excited. Finally she could see all of her friends again.  
>All of a sudden Mildred heard a scream behind her.<br>"Help, Miss Cackle, help!"  
>Miss Cackle didn't respond. She probably thought it was Mildred again. But it wasn't. Weirdly enough the screaming stopped again. It was probably nothing.<br>"Down girls, we're there." Miss Cackle said. All the girls commanded their brooms to go down and they perfectly landed in front of Walker's Gate. Mildred couldn't wait to go inside, but she had to wait until the gate was open.  
>"One, two, three, four… Four girls? Who's missing?"<br>No one seemed to be missing, and if there really was someone missing she couldn't respond. So Miss Cackle decided to go over the name list.  
>"Bryony Besomsworth?"<br>"Yes, Miss Cackle."  
>"Ethel Hallow?"<br>"Yes, Miss Cackle."  
>"Mildred Hubble?"<br>"Yes, Miss Cackle."  
>"Gloria Newt?"<br>"Yes, Miss Cackle."  
>"So Drusilla's missing? Drusilla Paddock?"<br>Mildred looked around. Indeed, Drusilla was missing. But how? She had seen Drusilla a few minutes ago. Didn't Drusilla just call her stupid when she almost fell forward? Oh no. What if the scream she heard came from Drusilla? What if she fell of her broom? She wouldn't survive a fall like that.  
>"Miss, I heard her screaming Miss."Mildred said.<br>"Did you? When exactly? "  
>"Well, only a few minutes ago. After we flew over Pentangles and just before we landed."<br>"I see, thank you Mildred. Girls, please go to your dormitories. And Bryony, can you go to Miss Hardbroom and tell her we lost Drusilla and I'm looking for her."  
>"Yes Miss."<p>

After putting her broomstick back in the broomshed Mildred went inside. She felt bad. Even though she hated Drusilla, she didn't deserve this. She went to her room, took her hat and cloak off. Should she go see her friends? No, she had to think. Maybe she could have saved Drusilla if she reacted on her scream. If she was dead it was Mildred's fault. But she wasn't dead. It would be too awful. She couldn't be dead.  
>Just before Mildred was about to dissolve into tears she heard a knock on the door.<br>"Who's there?" She asked.  
>The door swung open and Maud and Enid ran in and hugged Mildred.<br>"Oh Millie, we've missed you so much!" Maud said.  
>"Yeah, it was so boring without you." Enid continued.<br>Mildred smiled. She remembered why she missed them too.  
>"Boring without me? Oh please. I was with Ethel and Drusilla, they gave me a hard time." Mildred said.<br>The others laughed, but Mildred thought over what she said, Ethel and Drusilla. Drusilla.  
>"Well, you survived, didn't you?" Enid said.<br>Survived. Yes, Mildred survived. But Drusilla probably didn't.  
>"Girls, I'm sorry. I'm happy to be back but something terrible happened on the flight back to school. Drusilla fell off her broom." Mildred said.<br>The other girls didn't seem to care.  
>"Oh did she, well, she probably deserved that after everything she did to you." Maud said.<br>"No Maud, you don't understand. We were about a hundred feet above the ground. I don't know what happened but she's missing. Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom are looking for her now. And even though she's not my friend I don't feel good about this."  
>Enid and Maud didn't know what to say so they just looked at Mildred as if they thought she was about to continue.<br>"No really, I'm sorry. Can I please have some time for myself?" Mildred asked.  
>Maud and Enid both gave Mildred another hug.<br>"We understand Millie." Maud said, and she and Enid left the room.  
>When they closed the door Mildred just couldn't help herself anymore. She lay down on her bed and burst into tears. <p>


	3. The bench just outside Walkers Gate

Mildred waited until midnight because she hoped Miss Cackle would come up to her to tell her more about Drusilla. But she didn't. She didn't even know if they already found her because she didn't see her or Miss Hardbroom coming back. Because she waited so long before going to bed she was late for potions class. She jumped out of bed, put her uniform on and ran downstairs to the potions lab. She knew Miss Hardbroom was going to yell at her, but that was something HB always did. Potion class wasn't exactly her best subject. When Mildred opened the door she saw that not only Miss Hardbroom stood behind the desk. But also Miss Cackle, Miss Drill and Miss Hardbroom. She opened the door and sat down next to Maud.  
>"And good morning Mildred." Miss Hardbroom said. Obviously she had to point out Mildred was late in front of the entire class.<br>"May I continue, Miss Hardbroom?" Miss Cackle said, after a few seconds of awkward silence.  
>"Of course, headmistress."<br>"Like I said, there is no sign of Drusilla anywhere. We presume she fell off her broomstick and we haven't searched the entire area, because she might have fallen in the river somewhere. So we wanted to let you know the police is looking for her on the entire route. We know this might be hard for you, so if you want to talk about it, you can always come to my office. Any questions?"  
>Ethel raised her hand.<br>"Yes Ethel?"  
>"Is… Is there… Miss? Is there a chance… She's still alive?"<br>Ethel's voice sounded different. Her voice vibrated and was ten times softer. She looked terrible too. Her eyes were red and she didn't seem to have done her hair this morning.  
>"Ethel dear, we can't say. I'm sorry."<br>Ethel buried her face in her hands and started sobbing. None of the girls, nor the teachers knew what to do. No one really like Ethel and a lot of students (and teachers) were a little afraid of her. But Mildred had a good heart, she stood up and sat down next to Ethel.  
>"Hey, are you okay?" She asked. Ethel probably wasn't, so Mildred didn't expect an answer, but she put her arm around her to comfort her.<br>"Leave me alone Mildred." Ethel said.  
>Mildred went back to her seat next to Maud.<br>"Anymore questions girls?"  
>Mildred didn't raise her hand, even though she had many questions. But they already knew many answers, even though they couldn't be sure. For example, Mildred knew everyone thought Drusilla was dead. But what if she was lucky and landed somewhere safe, and she started walking back to Cackle's Academy herself, but she walked the wrong direction, so Miss Cackle couldn't find her. That wouldn't be so weird, would it?<br>"No more questions. Well then. Today's classes are all cancelled. Remember what I said, if you want to talk. I'm here for you."

It was a weird day, it was as if the whole school already knew what happened to Drusilla. A lot of older students tried spreading rumours, about her possible death and a lot of their classmates believed it. But Mildred's own classmates didn't. They were the only ones who thought about what might have happened to her, most of them thought she survived her fall, some of them thought she was kidnapped and no one knew what Ethel thought. Ethel didn't talk to anyone anymore. She seemed so sad. Mildred saw her sitting outside the entire day, just looking at the sky. And during dinner Mildred noticed she wasn't in the great hall. So she went outside, looking for her. She sat on a bench, just outside Walkers Gate. She cried.  
>"Oh Ethel…" Mildred said when she saw her.<br>"Oh leave me alone Mildred! Please, I want to be alone."  
>"Really, do you want to be alone? Don't you need someone to talk to? A friend?"<br>"No. I can talk to Miss Cackle if I want to."  
>"Okay, well, if that's what you want. But Ethel, honestly, I know what you think of me. And you know what I think of you. But I'm there for you when you need me."<br>"But I don't need you. Are you deaf or something? Please go."  
>"Don't you…"<br>"No!"  
>Mildred knew how sad she was, so she actually wanted to give her a big hug, but Ethel didn't want to. Or probably she did, but not from Mildred. So Mildred went through the gate, back to the great hall.<br>"Millie? Where did you go? You missed the main course!" Enid said when Mildred came near her.  
>"I was with Ethel, I thought she maybe wanted someone to talk to but she didn't."<br>"Of course she doesn't. She hates you!"  
>"I know. But she's sad. She needs a friend doesn't she."<br>"Well to be honest, I don't give a shit about Ethel. It's sad what happened to Drusilla but still, Ethel's Ethel."  
>Mildred sighed. It wasn't fair. Ethel deserved a friend.<p> 


	4. Found

That night Mildred couldn't sleep at all. She couldn't stop thinking about what might have happened with Drusilla. She couldn't be dead, she just couldn't. Not so easy though. Maybe she was kidnapped by an evil witch or it was a not so funny practical joke. Drusilla was an amazing flyer, not half as good as Ethel, but still, she wouldn't fall off her broom. And what if she did fall, and sat somewhere in the woods right now. In the rain, freezing to death. Death... No, no, she couldn't be dead. Ethel could never cope with that. Poor Ethel. And poor Drusilla. Why did it come back in her head every minute? She went over the exact same things only seconds ago.

Suddenly Mildred heard footsteps and loud talking. Was it Drusilla? Mildred actually wanted to open the door to see what was happening but what if it was Miss Hardbroom? HB would probably kill her if she knew Mildred was out of bed in the middle of the night. So it was a lot safer to just put her ear against the door and listen.

"Yes Amelia, I know. But do you really think we should whake the girls right now?"

"I think that's the right thing to do, Constance. For some of the second years the news might come as a kind of relief."

Relief? So Drusilla was fine? Thank heavens.

"Relief? What on Earth do you mean, Miss Cackle? I think for most of the girls it will be... Wel I think it will be very traumatic. They are going through a very hard time at the moment. They need their rest. And besides, we've only just heard she's been found ourselves! Please Miss Cackle, let them sleep."

Mildred wasn't interested anymore. Why would she even want to hear the rest of their conversation? Drusilla was found! Mildred could finally go to sleep. She had nothing to worry about anymore. Drusilla was found.

The following morning Mildred was up very early. She took a shower, put clean clothes on and did her hair. Normally she only did that on Saturdays and Sundays, because she was always late for class. But because of the great news she heard that night she was so happy and looking forward to the day she didn't even want to sleep in. So that day was the first day in her entire life on which the teacher wasn't there yet when Mildred entered the classroom. She sat down next to Enid.

"Morning Enid!" She said.

"Um, morning Millie. You're up early!"

"I know, yes, because last..."

On the very moment Mildred was about to tell Enid what she heard that night Miss Cackle walked in and sat down behind her desk.

"Good morning girls. I hope you're all doing fine and enjoyed your day off yester..."

"Sorry I'm late Miss..."

Ethel walked in, looking like a tramp.

"No problem Ethel, sit down dear. We haven't started yet. But girls, I wanted to talk to you about Drusilla. Being her classmates I think it's necessary you are the first to know the news. But I'm warining you, this might be a bit of a shock. Last night the police was searching the area and around 2 am they found her body in the river. I know for many of you this news is probably the most horrible you've ever heard, but I want you to think of it as a relief. She's been found. She's not lost or in pain. When she fell off her broom she broke her neck so luckily she didn't feel any pain and died a very peaceful death."

Mildred was angry. Firstly, because she believed Drusilla was alive, and secondly, because she heard Drusilla screaming before she fell. So it didn't seem a peaceful death at all to Mildred.

"A peaceful death? I'm sorry Miss, I heard her screaming! It wasn't as if she fell down and was like... Dead all of a sudden!"

When she said that she realized she said something stupid. The whole class was in silence, until Ethel started to cry and left the classroom.

"Mildred Hubble! I want all of you to know the full truth. This is what the police officer has told me. And I know it might be hard to accept for some of you, it's very important to know what really happened."

What really happened. How could Miss Cackle possibly know what really happened? She didn't even turn around when Drusilla screamed for help. Mildred felt tears coming up.

"Miss Cackle... Can I please... Can I please leave the classroom?"

"No Mildred, I still need to give you some more information. You really need to know what's going to happen now. Well girls, all of your parents have..."

Mildred couldn't listen anymore. She was so angry, so sad, so... She didn't know, it felt as if she was about to explode. And why did Miss Cackle talk about it as if it was nothing important? It was as if she announced a teacher was retiring. Mildred really couldn't take it anymore. She stood up and ran out of the classroom.

She thought she heard Miss Cackle calling her back but she wasn't sure, she wouldn't come back anyway. She wanted to run away, very far away. But she didn't know where to go. Somewhere in the corridor Mildred saw Ethel, sitting on the floor. Mildred didn't want Ethel to notice she was there, she was probably mad at her. But Ethel heard her footsteps. She ran up to Mildred and hugged her.

"Oh Mildred..."

Mildred put her arms around Ethel.

"I'm sorry Ethel... I'm so sorry."


	5. Everything hurts

Mildred and Ethel didn't want to let go of each other. They were both crying but it felt so good, just hugging and sharing the same pain. It didn't matter anymore. Everything Ethel's ever done to Mildred. Oh yes, that hurt her too. But that would never come close to losing someone, in Ethel's case, her best friend. After a while they both let go.

"Do you... Want to go for a walk outside?" Mildred asked.

Ethel nodded and took Mildred's hand. While holding hands they walked through the forest, not saying a word to each other. But words weren't necessary now. They both enjoyed the company. So they just walked. They both had no idea where they were going but the forest was beautiful. And even though the leaves on the trees were very colourful and there were probably many animals hiding in their holes, it was very silent.

"Mildred, I need to sit down. I can't stand on my feet anymore." Ethel said after a few more minutes, and she sat down on a stump.

Mildred saw she was still crying. She really couldn't bare looking at a crying Ethel.

"Please Ethel, don't cry." She said.

"Don't cry? It isn't as if I can control my emotions at the moment. She's gone..."

"I know, but..."

"But what? You don't understand, do you? I lost Drusilla! My best friend, my only friend. My companion... My everything! She was like a sister to me!"

"I know Ethel, but I just don't want you to feel sad."

"Yes, it's probaby better to be happy about it, isn't it? Why don't we throw a party already? I hate you, Mildred Hubble. Thanks for nothing!"

Ethel stood up and walked away. Mildred felt so bad. She only tried to help. She wanted to be there for Ethel. But she ruined it. She always ruined it. This was all her fault. She heard Drusilla's scream in her head all day long. She could have saved her. She could have turned around to catch her. And Drusilla's death definitely wasn't the only accident caused by her. Mildred knew it wasn't really caused by her, but still. If she saved her she would still be alive. She'd be having fun with Ethel now. Okay, that obviously meant they were both bullying her, but Mildred would love to be bullied by Drusilla once more.

Everything hurt her. Even being in the forest, because these trees were the last ones Drusilla's ever seen. That thought made her want to go back to school, so she started walking that direction, trying to avoid the river. It was a longer walk, but she didn't care. When she finally saw the castle she sighed. Why did everything make her feel sad? Ethel sat on the bench again. She probably didn't see Mildred, but Mildred would still feel bad if she passed Ethel without saying something. So she sat down next to Ethel.

"No Mildred, leave me alone." Ethel said, with a vibrating voice.

Mildred stood up again and went inside. She didn't want to go back to class. She went to her room and let herself fall onto her bed.

"Mildred? Are you there?"

Mildred heard a knock on her door.

"Who's there?" She asked.

"It's Miss Cackle, Mildred. May I come in?"

Mildred couldn't say no to the headmistress, even though she really didn't want her to come in.

"Yes Miss."

Miss Cackle walked into her room and sat down on her bed.

"How are you, Mildred?"

"Fine..."

"Not too sad?"

"No..."

"That's great, Mildred. Well, I only came to your room to tell you about the upcoming days. We've sent your parents a letter about all the events, but realised later that we should be the ones to tell you what's going to happen now. Don't you agree?"

Mildred shrugged.

"Well... Umm... Look Mildred. Drusilla's body is still with the police now. They need to clean her up so she can bring her back to the castle, so you and the other girls can say goodbye, if you want of course... After..."

"Back to the castle?"

"Yes, Mildred, do you know what a wake is?"

Mildred nodded.

"Okay, good."

"No!"

"I beg your pardon?"

"No, it's not good! She's dead!"

"Mildred, I didn't mean..."

"She is! You could have saved her Miss! You could have flown back!"

"No, Mildred, I would have been too late. Her funeral will be..."

"You could have tried..."

"Her funeral will be held in the village's church on Friday, do you want to go?"

"I don't know..."

"I actually wanted to tell you about the upcoming activities. For example, we're going to decorate her desk in our classroom. But I guess you don't want to join us, do you?"

"I don't know..."

"If you need help, there will be a victim support psychologist in Miss Hardbroom's office for the rest of the week. So if you want to talk about it you can go there, whenever you feel like it. And of course you can also come to me. Is that understood, Mildred?"

"Yes Miss."

"Well, I'll just let you rest now then. Don't forget to eat dinner."

As soon as Miss Cackle walked out and closed the door Mildred burst into tears again. She didn't want to attend Drusilla's funeral. Not at all! And she didn't want to see her body. Never again.


	6. An open door

The night went by as slow as the night before, but Mildred thought the teachers probably wouldn't mind her sleeping in so she decided to stay in bed after her alarm clock woke her up. Unfortunately, when she was about to fall asleep again, she heard a knock on the door and Enid saying: "Millie, Millie, we have a free period!"  
>"Okay, thanks Enid, I was just…"<br>"Can I come in?"  
>Mildred wanted to say she wanted to catch up on some sleep, but Enid already let herself in before she even opened her mouth.<br>"Where did you go during class yesterday?" Enid asked.  
>"Oh nowhere, I was upset about the news and stuff… So… Well, yeah."<br>"You're upset? Don't make me laugh, you hated Drusilla, I'm glad she's dead."  
>"Enid, how dare you!"<br>"Honestly Millie, ever since she fell off her broom you act like you've lost your best friend. But you didn't, because she's here, standing in your room and talking to you."  
>"Hey, Maud's my best friend too!"<br>"I know, but I'm your bestest friend!"  
>Enid was incredibly annoying. In some way she always was, but usually it was funny and Mildred could handle it. But she was too hyper, too happy, too cheeky, just too annoying to have in her room while she was in an awful mood herself.<br>"Enid, you are indeed, but I want to get dressed now, so umm… I'll see you during chanting class, right?"  
>"We don't have chanting class today. They'll be busy with Drusilla until eleven or something."<br>"Busy with Drusilla? What are they doing?"  
>"Umm, well they're bringing her coffin inside right now and her parents are here today and blah blah… "<br>"They're bringing her coffin inside?"  
>"Oh my God, Mildred! Why do you even care? You're only interested in her because she's dead."<br>"I'm not!"  
>"Oh whatever, I'm gonna hang out with Fenny and Gris. See you."<br>Enid, who seemed very offended, went out of the room again. Mildred realized she couldn't sleep anymore anyway, so she went out of bed and started looking out of the window. And indeed, Enid was right, a few people, including the teachers, Drusilla's half sister Clarice and some other adults she didn't know stood outside on the courtyard while a few other people carried Drusilla's coffin over the courtyard, into the building. It was a white coffin, with flowers on top. Mildred couldn't believe Drusilla was actually in there. What would she look like? Would her body still be intact? Mildred didn't want to see it at all but still she wondered. When she didn't see the coffin anymore she put on her school uniform and got out of her room to see Ethel. Mildred thought Ethel couldn't stay mad for too long, so Mildred opened the door to Ethel's room without knocking. Mildred was shocked to find Ethel crying on her bed, in her underwear.  
>"Ethel, are you okay?" Mildred asked.<br>"What do you think, moron? Do I seem okay?" Ethel shouted.  
>"I'm sorry, I could have known…"<br>Mildred sat down on Ethel's bed and started stroking Ethel's back.  
>"Don't touch me!" Ethel said.<br>Mildred didn't know what to do. She wanted to comfort Ethel but she really didn't know how. Well, apparently not by touching her, so she took her hand off Ethel's back and waited for Ethel to tell her what she wanted. But Ethel didn't use words to tell her. She sat up, put both of her arms around Mildred and her head on Mildred's shoulder. For ten minutes they sat like this. Mildred was fine with it, it seemed to make Ethel feel better and that made herself feel better too. All of a sudden Ethel started talking.  
>"I'm sorry Mildred, I'm sorry I'm being so mean. I don't know what I'm doing anymore. I totally lost it. I've never experienced anything like this before."<br>"Neither have I. But it's okay Ethel, I can see why you're sad. I'm sad too…"  
>Ethel closed her eyes and sighed. For a few seconds it seemed as if Ethel was about to fall asleep, but she wasn't.<br>"Can we do something fun together?" She asked.  
>"We?" Mildred couldn't believe her ears. Why would Ethel want to do something fun with her? Yes, she was sad and she knew she wanted to be comforted. But what did she mean with doing something fun?<br>"Yes, we practically have the day off. And to be honest, I can use some entertainment."  
>"Hmm yeah, you're right. What would you like to do then?"<br>Mildred couldn't believe she was just about to spend the day with Ethel. Ethel Hallow, her archenemy! Were they about to become friends? No way.  
>"How about… A game of chess? Or do you have other games in your room?" Ethel asked.<br>Mildred shrugged and said: "No, not really. Well a few, but chess is fine."  
>"Really? Oh… Well, I actually… I don't want to…" Ethel couldn't finish her sentence without bursting into tears again. Unaware of herself Mildred gave Ethel a kiss on her head, but Ethel didn't seem to mind that. As Ethel kept on crying Mildred put her arms around Ethel too and gave her a hug.<br>"Oh Ethel, poor you… Do you want to go for a walk again?" Mildred asked while hugging her.  
>"N… No… N-n-no thanks." Ethel said through her tears.<br>Mildred let go of Ethel and wiped the tears off her face. She smiled at Ethel and said: "Do you want to go to my room then?"  
>Ethel smiled back at Mildred and nodded. Mildred stood up and walked to Ethel's closet. Wow, Ethel had a lot more clothes than Mildred. She had a lot more gymslips and shirts for her uniform, but a lot more casual clothes too. But because it was a Wednesday Mildred took out a shirt, gymslip, tie, a pair of grey socks and a green stash (that's what all the second years at Cackle's wear), and put them on Ethel's bed.<br>"Here, put these on."  
>Ethel put on her clothes. Ethel usually took more care of her personal appearance than the others, but she was too lazy, or too depressed to do that ever since she was told Drusilla was missing. She didn't even put her hair in her signature ponytail.<br>"I'm done… Can we go to your room now?" Ethel said when she got dressed.  
>"Sure, come on."<br>They left the room to go to Mildred's, but noticed on the corridor that the door to Drusilla's room was open. Mildred and Ethel both looked at each other as if they were both waiting for the other to ask if she wanted to take a look. After staring at the door for a while Ethel smiled at Mildred and said: "Oh come on, let's go!"


	7. Friends

Mildred and Ethel walked to the door. They both still hesitated a little but they were too curious to go anywhere else without taking a look. When the girls finally had enough courage to enter the room they couldn't believe their eyes.  
>There she was, Drusilla Paddock, her body so pale and full of bruises, lying on her bed. Next to her was the white coffin Mildred saw outside that morning. Ethel let go of Mildred's hand and sat down on the bed, stroking Drusilla's hair.<br>"She's so cold…" Ethel said.  
>Mildred didn't know what to say or what to do. She was too shocked. She didn't want to see Drusilla like this. She wanted to remember the living Drusilla.<br>"Ey, wha' are you doin' 'ere?"  
>Mildred turned around and saw three men looking at her and Ethel.<br>"Oh… We… Well, we just got curious."  
>"Y'er not supposed to be in 'ere love. We've got a job to do."<br>"What are you going to do with her?"  
>"None of your business darlin'."<br>Mildred looked at Ethel. She was holding Drusilla's lifeless body in her arms. She knew Ethel wasn't about to leave the room at all.  
>"You too, sweetheart." Said one of the guys to Ethel.<br>"No! She's my friend! I can't leave her alone!" Ethel shouted.  
>"But ya 'ave to. Only for a minute, love."<br>"NO! I CAN'T!"  
>The man walked over to Ethel and tried to help her getting up, but Ethel refused to let go.<br>"We only need to get the room ready for 'er. You can see 'er when we're don, okay?"  
>"No, please, let me stay here! I beg you! Please!"<br>The man tried to pull Ethel away from Drusilla's body.  
>"Let gooooooooooooo!" She screamed, while she was trying to escape.<br>Mildred started crying. It was so awful. She couldn't imagine how Ethel felt, but the sight of a girl so devastated she couldn't even let go of her friend's body, that broke Mildred's heart. She left the room and sat down on the floor, next to the door, with her eyes closed and her hands on her ears. She didn't want to hear the awful sound of Ethel's screaming. She just couldn't cope with it. But it went through her body like a billion knifes. Even with her ears closed off she couldn't take it and she ran away to her room. She couldn't hear Ethel anymore, she was too far away. But the sound kept on echoing inside her head. And she couldn't think! Not at all! The only thing her brain wanted to expose to her was the image of Drusilla's dead body. It was too much. Way too much. Mildred slapped her head a few times, trying to get it out of her head, but it didn't work. She started screaming.  
>A few seconds later Maud appeared in Mildred's room.<br>"Millie, what's wrong?" She asked.  
>"LEAVE ME ALONE!"<br>Mildred didn't care who it was. She didn't want to see anyone ever again. If only there was a spell that allowed her to erase all of these awful memories.  
>"Well, if that's what you want. If you rather hang out with Ethel than with me then I WILL leave you alone." Said Maud with an angry voice and she walked away.<br>"No, Maud, you don't understand, it's not that…"  
>But it was too late. Why was Maud so jealous? Why didn't she see Ethel was in need of a friend like herself, even though Mildred and Ethel disliked each other from day one.<p>

A few minutes later a teary eyed Ethel walked into Mildred's room and without saying a word they put their arms around each other and started hugging. Mildred knew how Ethel felt, and Ethel knew how Mildred felt, so why would they want to use words? After the long hug Ethel decided she did want to say something.  
>"Thank you." She said.<br>Mildred didn't know what Ethel thanked her for, but she appreciated it. Apparently Ethel sensed Mildred's confusion so she said: "Thank you for being my friend."  
>Mildred smiled.<br>"Always."  
>Ethel smiled back and put her arms back around Mildred, who had no idea what her emotions were doing to her.<p> 


End file.
